Monthly Archives: September 2008

12 Hours of Vancouver

Posted on September 24, 2008 by | 3 Comments

I’ve been kind of obsessed with the idea of last suppers (i.e. – for prisoners on death row) and whether given the choice of trying something completely new or rare or exotic one would pick that or something familiar. One friend said he would take the opportunity to literally have something else that he couldn’t have in a normal life – human flesh if they would give it to him, or a Cobra venom sack, etc.  – but it seems that most people choose comfort food for their last meal, at least in Texas. I’m not sure. I think I would be torn between having a favorite thing done exceptionally well and perhaps paired with something new. But the idea of not being able to have your favorite things anymore sticks.

On a similar but less morbid note, Adam at Amateur Gourmet has started a meme of last hours spent in cities. He describes what his final 12 hours in New York would be like, and Chocolate and Zucchini describes 12 hours in Paris. Here’s what I would do with 12 hours left in the city I’ve spent most of my life in.

If I was leaving Vancouver for any period of time, I would realistically need to take a trip to White Rock beach, but let’s assume that I did that on the second to last day because it takes up too much time.

So.

My last half day would start around 10 AM with a run around the seawall followed by a browse through Bibliophile bookstore on the Drive. Book in hand I would go to Calabria for a coffee and Fratelli’s for a croissant and sit and read for a while.

Then a snacking wander through Granville Island, especially Oyama Sausage, Liberty Wines, Edible B.C., South China Seas Trading Co., where I would sample whatever was on offer as well as stock up on supplies for wherever I was going.

From there I would walk along the water to have a late lunch at Hapa in Kits, even though it is substandard to the one downtown. This was a tough compromise. I actually will probably never go back to that location because I just like the other one so much better. But I wouldn’t want to go to the Robson Street location on what I’m imagining is a sunny day.

I would digest lunch at the beach reading and people watching and when the sun started to set, head back downtown. Around 6 PM I would have a glass of wine and possibly the foie gras parfait at Salt Tasting Room.

Dinner would be at Boneta with my closest friends and then to the Irish Heather/Shebeen for several whiskies with as many friends as I could round up. If there was time, maybe a jaunt over to the Morrissey as well.

 

I have to say that this list made me completely anxious. I’ve always planned on moving away from Vancouver at some point, but I was only able to leave out dim sum and bubble tea and several of my other favorites by slotting them in earlier in my last week.

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Spanish Dreaming: Latin Quarter

Posted on September 16, 2008 by | 3 Comments

Even though I’ve never been, Spain is a happy place for me.  I mean that literally, in the way that self-help gurus tell you to find your happy place.  When things get hairy, I mentally transport myself to a sun-soaked patio and a table filled with chorizo and sangria. On especially bad (or good) days, I actually go to one of Vancouver’s Spanish restaurants and pretend.

I haven’t been to the Latin Quarter in some time, but I do have fond memories of long evenings spent drinking sangria in front of large, breezy windows or tucking into a meal before doing a spot of dancing.  This time was a bit different, as my sister and I were looking for a quick bite pretty early in the evening. We ordered a grilled eggplant salad and the brie and mango quesadillas that were on special, along with a pitcher of sangria.

The grilled salad was nothing special, but done perfectly. Slices of eggplant and tomato covered over with feta and a balsamic reduction are all the right flavours to appetize. I was wary of the quesadilla, because it seemed too easy, too overdone, to put two such trendy ingredients in a standby appetizer, but in fact in was delicious. The salsa was an added burst of flavour.  

Moving on to some hot, heavier tapas, we ordered an old favorite, albondigas, and the mariscos combo, which I have not had before. Spanish Meatballs are practically a tapas must. Served in spicy tomato sauce, with potatoes they are warm and comforting and usually express their inherent “Spanishness” enough to take you out of your element. Here, not so much. They tasted pretty much like meatballs in tomatos sauce. The mariscos combo was a beautiful dish. Scallops, mussels and clams arrived artfully arranged in their shells after having been cooked in a white wine and garlic broth. Unfortunately after dismantling the shellfish, this also disappointed. There just wasn’t enough flavour.

All in all, I was bored with the food. Blame it on being fresh back from New York, blame it on the early hour and lack of live music (which would have started later), blame it even on the English street traffic outside the window that insisted on reminding me I was still in Vancouver. The service was attentive and charming, the atmosphere was lovely as usual, but the food was just bland. I will go back(although not for a while) and hopefully by then they will have found either some inspiration or the spice rack.

Latin Quarter on Urbanspoon
______________________________________________________
Latin Quarter
1305 Commercial Drive

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Spanish

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Cafe Kathmandu

Posted on September 15, 2008 by | 1 Comment

bhatmaas soy beans

Commercial Drive is an obvious destination for ethnic food and while that’s not the reason I moved there, it definitely keeps me from moving away. And what I love about is that (being the Italian and Portuguese enclave) there are a lot of comfortable ethnic foods, but there are also places that you just won’t find anywhere else. Cafe Kathmandu, for example, which is one of my new favorite restuarants. I’ve never had Nepalese food before, so when my friend suggested it for dinner, I wasted no time in rushing up the street.

What a treat! Pictured above is a dish we had called bhatmaas – toasted soy beans fried with fresh ginger, chiles, garlic and coriander. The white flakes on top are chiuraa, a fabulous invention involving rice that has been booked and beaten flat, then toasted, and which adds a delightful element to the dish. Served crunchy and cold, it was like nothing I’ve ever had before and was an excellent appetizer for the dishes to come.

Next came the goat, marinated in spices and pan-fried. This dish is also available with chicken or tofu if goat isn’t your thing. If it is, you’re in luck. I’ve had curried goat before and enjoyed it, but this dish is spicier and boneless. Chunks of tangy goat meat have a heat and saltiness offset by the fresh peppers of onion and lime and of course a squeeze of lime doesn’t hurt either. Delicious.

To add some vegetables to the meal we had kaauli, tumeric-infused cauliflowers with fenugreek potatoes. It comes with rice and chutney and pickled daikon and although there are similar dishes in Indian cuisine, the spice mixture is just a little bit different here.

Throughout the meal, Abi, the owner (and out server), took time to explain the dishes as well as some informtation about Nepal. We were the only ones in the restaurant at the time, but he was so friendly and affable that I suspect he would have made some time for a quick chat even in a rush. 

Café Kathmandu on Urbanspoon
_________________________________

Cafe Kathmandu
2779 Commercial Drive, Vancouver

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Himalayan, Nepalese

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Ping’s Secret Hideaway Cafe

Posted on September 12, 2008 by | 4 Comments

Looking for a place to have some dinner before heading over to the Cascade Room, we decided on Ping’s Cafe, a place that has been recommended to me several times, but which I had yet to try. I knew it was on Main Street somewhere, but it’s a blink and you’ll miss it kind of place. Even after driving past it, looking up the address and driving back to the surprisinly shabby looking cafe (on the outside), there was still a sort of illicit, secret hideaway feel to the dinner, like we and the waitstaff were the only ones in the city who knew where we were.

The interior is no less minimalist, although it is nicer. Black and white lamps sparkle out of one wall while mirrors mounted opposite each other reflect the white walls and tables infinitely. The decor is far from cold, however and ensures that the showcase is where it should be: on the food.

We started with a sake tasting from Artisan Sake Maker on Granville Island. It comes with one filtered and one unfiltered and although the filtered had a hint of carbonation to it, both were delicious and we ended up ordering the same again, unable to choose.

Then came the food. Bang Bang tofu (tofu in peanut sauce with shredded carrots, and cabbage) and pumpkin croquettes ($6) followed by a main of miso cod ($18) to share. The tofu went down fast, delicious as it was, but I didn’t have the same love for the croquettes, which I found dry and a somewhat awkward size for eating with chopsticks. The cod, however, blew everything away. Morsels of flavourful fish melting softly on the tongue, it was both light and savoury and I could have eaten the same dish about 3 times over.

There are some strange items on the list, such as a Ping Dog (basically a japanese-adorned hot dog) and fries, and hamburger patties that I find kind of questionable, but whatever. Maybe I’ll give it a try next time. I do love Japadog…

Ping's Cafe on Urbanspoon
__________________________________________

Ping’s Cafe
2702 Main Street, Vancouver

→ 4 Comments

Posted in Asian, Japanese

Tagged , , , , ,

Lists

Posted on September 10, 2008 by | 3 Comments

The Gastronome/Omnivore’s 100 has really taken off. I keep seeing it all over the place. And I’ve been slowly checking off things that I’ve managed to consume. Some of them have been delicious and others have really not been worthwhile at all.

So while my sister and I were in New York we decided to come up with our own list:

1. Knish

2. Rollmops

3. Espresso

4. Garlic Mashed potatoes

5. Pomegranate

6. Honeycomb

7. Moose

8.  Prosciutto

9.  Balsamic marinated figs

10. Fresh blackberries

11. Scallops

12. Bresaola

13. Xiao long bao

14. Quinoa

15. A $100 + bottle of red wine.

16. Dulce de Leche

17. Candied Salmon

18. Injera

19. Haggis

20. Salted Cashews

21. Cotton Candy

22. Bubble tea

23. Raw oysters

24. Oolicans

25. Squid ink risotto

26. Joie Noble Blend

27. Poutine

28. Goat

29. Gnudi

30. Foie Gras

31. Taro

32. Tacos from a roadside stand

33. Brie

34. Roasted beets

35. Roasted Garlic

36. Popcorn

37. Peking duck

38. Fried zucchini blossoms

39. Ceviche

40. Creme Brulee

41. Paella

42. Mastica

43. Prickly Pear cactus

44. Heart of palm

45. Lamb Tagine

46. Greek Yogurt with honey

47. Fresh Crab

48. Dragonfruit

49. Ahi tuna sashimi

50. Freshly tapped maple syrup, on snow

Then there are the things that I want to try, compiled from various lists:

1. Scorpion

2. Snake whiskey

3. Kheer

4. Kedgeree

5. Caribou

6. Moose

7. Nettles or Nettle tea

8. Crocodile or Alligator

9. Bagna Cauda

10.  Fugu

11. Sea urchin

12. Umeboshi

13. Kaolin

14. Dirty Gin martini

15. Currywurst

16. Frog legs

17. Brunost

18. Baijiu

19. Lapsang Souchong

20. Horse

21, Lobster Thermador

22. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee

23. Moreton Bay bugs

24. Fried dragonfly

25. Kangaroo

26. Cuy

27. Barramundi

28. Australian Meat pie

29. Monkfish liver

30. Amaranth

31. Greengage

32. Blackeyed peas

33. Dandelion

34. Stevia

35. Bitter melon

36. Nutritional Yeast

37. Preserved lemons

38. Semolina

39. Acorn

40. Galangal

41. Criollo chocolate

Tigers & Strawberries has also come up with a vegetarian 100, for those who don’t eat meat. Some interesting things on there as well, although I think the one on Lists of Bests is a little more challenging.

UPDATED Aug. 12, 2009

UPDATED Jan. 2, 2009

UPDATED Oct. 2, 2008

UPDATED August 20, 2010

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Adventures in Dining

Tagged , ,

I Pig New York

Posted on September 9, 2008 by | 1 Comment

Well, I’m back from New York and it’s been a week, but I haven’t looked at my credit card statement or my scale and I’m a bit afraid of both of them. New York was absolutely fantastic and we shopped and ate our way around the city like gluttons, but it was so worth it because I had some of the most memorable meals I’ve ever had, all in the space of a week. All the same, this sticker from The Spotted Pig gastropub illustrates the theme of our vacation very well: we pigged New York.

The first night was a Mexican fusion place in Hell’s Kitchen, also called Hell’s Kitchen, where we ate lamb lollipops with blueberry glaze and mango salsa, pan-seared scallop tostados with smoked ancho chili and guacamole, ancho-chili crusted albacore tuna with spinach and peanut sauce, and striped bass poached with a spicy tomato broth. IT was a dark, edgy little place that was far from full late on a Monday night, but we savoured every bite.

The next day was lunch in Central Park followed by an unremarkable dinner at Mint. It was highly recommended in a couple of different places, but it turned out to be underwhelming. That’s OK, though because afterwards we went to the Carnegie Deli to try their famous cheesecake.

It was pretty impressive (although not as indeliably seared into my mind as the sight of the foot high sandwiches arriving on tables around us), but in fact I would have been happy to sit there and just eat pickles. The light green ones tasted just exactly like cucumbers fresh out of the garden with a little vinegar poured on top.

Wednesday saw us eating at a fancy Spanish restaurant in the Flatiron district. It was the only night that we left the hotel room without an idea of where and what we would be eating and while not a disaster, wasn’t one of the more memorable meals of the trip. We knew that we wanted to go to 230 Fifth for cocktails so we headed to that area and ended up at El Quijote, an old-school Spanish place. It served to fill us up with massive quanities of dishes straight out of the early nineties (quails, rack of veal, crab cocktail with cocktail sauce, iceberg lettuce salad, a carafe of rose and a dessert cart that was pushed over to the table at the end of the meal) as well as entertain us with the kitchsy decor. It looked like a cross between a fancy restaurant and a gift shop in Cervantes’ house. The portions were ridiculously big and we were stuffed (although not necessarily satisfied) before it looked like we had even made a dent.

The next day we were shopping in SoHo and decided to try Tailor for lunch as I had heard of them recently in a GQ article. Turns out they were not open for lunch, so we went across the street and had an amazing meal at Aurora.

The highlight of the meal was this bresaola with ricotta and balsamic vanilla infused figs. I had an excellent sausage and salad as well, but I would have just kept ordering this dish until they ran out of ingredients if I could have. It was that good.

Thursday turned out to be a good eating day because after our tour of shopping, we decided to go back to Tailor for dinner and there had the memorable meal of my life so far. I’ve had dreams of being in Tailor this week that threaten to depress me when I wake up.

The best thing was my dessert, but I’m going to note absolutely everything we ate that night because it was all heavenly and amazing and brilliant and deserves acknowledging:

Amuse bouche: Sake-cucumber soda
Cocktail: Blood and Sand (Scotch, sweet vermouth, cherry ale, orange head)
1st: Buttery Fois Gras and apricot mousse with apricot sauce and nitrogen-created balls, topped with nasturtiums, fresh apricots and crunchy nasturtium balls
Cocktail: Pastis Fraiche (Vodka, absinthe, anise hyssop and lemon)
Main: Pork Belly squares (crispy on the outside and buttery in the middle) with miso butterscotch sauce, artichokes roasted with bacon, and parsley
Dessert: Manchego blackberry cheesecake. Manchego cheesecake dipped in blackberry gel, with graham cracker ice cream and fresh blackberries
Aperitif: cedar infused bourbon

My sister stacie had a kumquat capirinia, scallops sprinkled with spice toast and papaya, paprika rum punch, skirt steak with pureed cauliflowers and amazing peas and cocoa nib drizzle, followed by chocolate mousse with sesame ice cream, crushed peanuts with ancho chilis and mole paper. We were there for hours and I could have stayed days longer.

Friday was our outing to the Spice Market in the Meat-Packing district, the dinner we were most looking forward to, and the atmosphere was so charged. It was packed to the imported antique gills with shiny happy people dining late into the night and it would have been very easy to be impressed except Tailor’s cosy, warm genius wowed us way more than the cold, trendy Spice Market. Regardless, the food was still outstanding.

Other highlights of the trip were Shanghai Cuisine’s xiao long baos, soup dumplings from the heart of Chinatown:

Sourcream Hazelnut waffles with berries at Balthazar:

Antipasto from Rocky’s in Little Italy:

It was such a great trip. I can’t wait to go back.

Thanks for all your suggestions on new Vancouver places to try! As soon as my wallet recovers, I’ll be sure to check them out.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , , , , , ,